Desk



Jan.9,1940. ..BALSTER 1 2,186,316

DESK

` FiledrJuly 21, 1937 Patented Jan. 9, 1940 desks'. `More particularlythe invention relates to thattype of desk which is adapted for use in anoiceor business establishment, is formed for the most part of Asheetmetal,A andcomprises a rectangular top, legsfatthe corners of thetop ffor supporting the top" in an elevated positionl withrespect to thefloor or supporting surface beneath the" desk, and a comparatively shortfront 'wall which depends from the front margin of the top and extends-between andabuts against-the 'upper ends of the front legs: vf 2 1''One object of the invention -is to provide a deskV of this vtype whichis an improvement upon and has certain capabilities of yusel andadvantages over previously designed -desks yof the same generalcharacter by reason of the fact that it` includes a drawer unitwhichunderlies one'en'd of the top and is `supported so that it `may bereadily removed when it is desired to decreasethe total drawer space ofthevv desk 'or to transport the contents of the unit independently ofVthe desk proper.

Another object of tho invention is toproyide a desk of'the lastmentioned character in* which the drawer unit comprises a topja pairofsides and abottom, and is removably'supported-by' means of a pair oflaterally spaced, horizontally extending channel shaped guidewaysbeneath the'` y top, anda pair of laterally spacedl slide' bars whichare secured to the top of the cabinet and' fit slidably-in theguideways. I; A further object of the invention is to provide a deskfoithe type and character last mentioned which Vincludes novel means forsecuring the l drawer unit in its operative' position and in which-l'the channel shaped guideways which'with the laterally spaced sidebars-on the top of the Acabi` net serve-removably tosupport the unit,extend rearwardly from the short desk front wall' serve to reinforce thelatter. I Y

, A still further object of the invention is'to prof videa desk which isgenerally of new and improved construction and may be manufactured at acomparatively low and-reasonable-cost.

Other objects of the invention and the variousy advantages andcharacteristics of vthe present of desk will lbe apparent from-aconsideration the'following detailed description.

The invention consists in the several novel features which arevhereinafter set forth and arelmore particularly defined by claims atthe con-.1

clusion hereof. A

In the drawing which accompanies and forms apart of this -specication ordisclosure andvin f the desk'.

and

whichlike'numerals of reference denote corre spendingparts'throughouttheseveral views:

sectionalview taken on the line 2`2 ofv Figure 1 andvrIillustratim'gindetail the design of theremovablev drawer unitVvshowing the manner in which the unitvis-'r'emovvably suspended orsupported;

Li Figure 3 isa vertical transverse sectional view 10 taken onfthe line3-3 of Figure v2 and illustrating in detail the manner in which thechannel shaped guide'waysloperate 1 or'servefto reinforce the deskfrontwallj'l 'fFigure lois a l of the guidewaysrand slide-bars; and'vFigure-5 is 'an enlarged transverse sectional view ytaken on@A the line5--5y of Figure 1` and showingthe-manner inwhich the drawer unit is4releasably `'l'ockedfagainst sliding movement when it islin fits"operative position beneath the top of The-deskl which isshown inthedrawing constitutes the'lpreferred'embodiment of the invenproper '6.and-a drawer unit 1.

The desk proper is substantially of standard or conventionalconstructionandl consists of ay or 'business-establishment and comprises a deskrectangular 'top{8, a (pair of front legs 9, a pair of'rearlegs III;Vairont wall II, "a back wall I2,

nenlarged sectional view of one 1lii tion@-Itfisgadapted primarily `foruse in anoice y2 andav kpair of side walls I3. The top is formed ofsheet metal andi-embodies a protective covering Ill of linoleumy or1llike material and a marginal bead:-il5 "forf holding-the rprotectivecovering in place, if'The front and rear legs V9 and I0 are tubular.indesignand underlie i respectively the front and rearicorners oftheltop.v They serve to support the topfoffthe desk in an elevated positionwith respectto` the floor orsupporting isformedof 'sheet metal anddepends from the f -front margin ofthe top; It extends between and abutsagainst theupper-ends of the front legs 9 offthedeskandhas a pair ofsuperposed or vertically spacedslots I1 and AI8 in one end thereof. Thebottom-'margin of the front wallII is spaced from theziio'or Va sufcientdistance to provide ample leg room beneath the top of the desk andembodies an integral inturned flange I9. vThe back walll I2 depends fromthe front margin of 'the' topY and yextends :between and is connected atits, ends to the rear legs Ill;` As'shown in Figure v1;the-earV-wa11f..I2. is of such length that thev 55,.`

40' surfacebeneathnthe desk'. and have solid metal :feet yIIi=atr theirlower ends. The front wall II :lill

sides 34 are imperforatelike`the;topi33.

:'I slot I8 in-the front wall II.

.SI and a pair oidrawers` 32.

rear margin thereof terminates directly above the feetat the lower endsof the rear legs of the desk. The side walls I3 are positioned atopposite ends of the desk and extend between and are formed integrallywith the front and rear legs 9 and I0. They are the same in height asthe back wall I2 and are secured at their upper margins to the V endmargins of the top 8. In addition to the top, legs, front, side and backWalls,` the desk proper comprises a pair. of cross-pieces2ll, a. pair ofdrawers 2I and 22 and a ledge". 23. "The cross'- pieces 2@ extendbetween and abut against the front wall II and the upper portion of thebask;` wall `I2 and are located at opposite ends of the slots I1 and IB.They are formed of sheet metall4 and have laterally extending flanges24.a1ong. the top margins thereof and similarly extending flanges 25.along their bottom;` margins. The: flanges 24 are welded or otherwiseiixedly secured. to the bottom face of the top 8 and the flanges 25along the bottom margins-'of thefcross-pieces are disposedk insubstantially the'same.` horizontal y plane as the flange I9. Thedrawer2.I ts-inithe slot i1 in the front wall l l and is supportedby a pair of`angle type slide bars 26. so ,that it is slidablehorizontally from aclosed position be` `neath the top to: an open position wherein it, is,

disposed for the. most part. in front of thefront wall II. The slidebarsy 2B are locatedybetween' the cross-pieces 2t. and are carried bybrackets 21 which, as shown in Figure. 2, extend horizon` tally and arexedly secured to the inner faces lof the cross-pieces.. `The drawer 221isdi'sposedbeneath the drawer 2| and extends-through the It is formed ofsheet metal and has outwardly' extending channel bars.

2S alongY the central or intermediate portions of the sides thereof.These channel bars :coact with oppositely extending channel bars29fa1vong. the inner facesv of the cross-pieces. 2|]` to form slidingconnections vwhereby the drawer 22:. isI supported so that it isslidable rectilinearly from a closed position beneathy the top..- 8 toan open position in front of the top. The ledge 2432' exitends alongthe. bottom margin ofthefrearwallz I2' of the desk. Tt extendshorizontally between the; front portions of the lower, margins ofvthe'sidef` walls I3 and embodies a` depending reinforcing flange 30alongthe front margin thereof.

The drawer unit v1 is located beneath the draw-V ers 2| and 22 andconsists-,of abox-like cabinet They cabinet' is. formed throughout ofsheet' metal and consists of a topl33, avpair ofA sides: 34,y abottom35, a

front 36, anda back 31.. The'v top 33 is; imper` forate and underliesand extends rearwardly. from the inturned-iiange I 9 Valongthe;lowerfmar-l ginof the front walljII of the desk. properwhenv the unit isin its operativepositiom that is,-. in assembled relationl with thedesk. proper; The" They extend between and. arev connectedptof. the.side margins of thetop andv bottom and are.l of.;slightly` less depththan. the side walls I3of. the. desk.' The bottom is'thesameinf'sizefas'the. topst and-when the unita isfinits operative:posi,-Ation, rests on the ledgez23;` as showniinzFigureli. The frontis-secured-to, and extendabetween, the iront margins of.; the; top,side-and. bottoni of. the.A cabinet and embodies ar pairfof superposedvertically spaced rectangularl openings 3.8i The drawers .32 extend.through thefrectangular-open ings; 38 in thecabinet-front' 3i?` and;have. pulls 39` on. the-front parts.: thereof.` 'iheyL operate: whentheunit. iii-.its` operative positionnto. aug:-

ment the drawer space of the desk and are sup'd ported for horizontalsliding movement with respect to the cabinet by angle type slide bars40. The latter, as shown in Figure 2, underlie the A.side margins of thedrawer bottoms and are xhave upstruck iront ends which rest on and arefixedlysecured to the inturned flange I9 along the bottommargin of thefront wall I I. The rear ends of: thestrips.` 4-32 rest on and areriveted to an angle bar 44 which extends lengthwise of the desk and' hasthe ends thereof secured to the flanges 25 along. the. bottom marginsofthe cross-pieces 2H; Thefguideways 4I` together with the strips 43Aserve to reinforce thefront wall II of the desk proper" and prevent itfrom bending or becoming distorted during use ofthe desk. The slide bars42a are parallelly positioned and. are welded or other-wisefixedlysecured tothe top face of the cabinet top 33. They extendfrom the`front36 'to the cabinet back. 31 and have upwardly and outwardlyextending integral anges 45. Thel latter are designedy to t slidably inthe channelshaped guideways 4I and coact` with the guideways to supportthe: unit soI that itmay be removed;v from the desk proper by sliding it.for- When the. unit is inits proper or voperativeposition, the front 36ofA the. cabinet is substantially.- flush with the front wall I I of thedesk proper and the front portion of the outermost cabinet side laps.orv abuts.- against the adjoining front. leg Si` ofv the desk. An angletype, bar 46. isfmounted` on. the ledge 23 andserves as a stop forlimiting rearward. sliding movement of thev unit. This bar is soarranged that whenv the back 3-1 of the cabinet is slid rearwardly intoabutting relationvtherewith, the` cabinet front 35. is flush with thefront wall II. Screws 41 extendfthrough.. the outermost cabinet side andinto the adjoining'. front. leg. 9 of. the. desk. and. serve tor-holdthe unt. in.` place. When.. it is desired tor-enleve the unit so. as`either to.. decrease the total drawer space of the desk or to transportthe contents of thev unit independently of the desk. proper., the screws411 areremoved and the cabinet.l with the.. drawers is slid forwardlyuntil the: iianges 45 of the slide bars become disconnected fromv thechannel shaped guiclewaysl 4I.

Whenit. is desiredv to. assemble theunit with the desk proper the unitispositioned in frontof the deskr and then manipulated so. as. toA bringthe rear ends ofthe flanges 45 of the slide bars into alignment with thefront ends of the guideways afim its operative position.J the unit. as awhole.

These strips extend transversely of the desk and Y is effectivelysupported and is maintained in rigidA facing channel-shapedgudeways-extending betured at a comparatively low and relation with thedesk proper. n The herein described desk may be manufacdue to `thesimplicity of its that it embodies but a small number of parts.

It is extremely durable and permits its user to` increase or decreasedrawer space therein by usel or detachment of the unit 1.

l The invention is not to be understood as re-vr stricted to the detailsset forth, since these'may be modied within the scope of the appendedclaims, without departing frornthe spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention', what'kIV claim as new and desireent is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a desk comprising an elongated top,front and rear legs to secure by Letters Patat the corners of the topfor supporting the latterV y1n an elevated position, front walldepending from a comparatively short the front marginof the top andextending between the upper ends of the kfront legs, an element xedlysecured in place and disposed behindy said iront wall, an independentdrawer unit composed of a box-like cabinet having a drawer" therein andpositioned normally beneath one end of .the elongated top and with thefront thereof substantially ush withv saidfront wall, and;means forsuspending ythe unit so that it maybe removed from itsnorymal positionby vforward sliding movement consisting of a pair of laterally spacedoppositely reasonable cost y design and the fact` tween and having theends thereof secured respectively to the front wall and said element,vand ja pair of laterally spaced slide-bars xedly con-y nected to the'topof the cabinet and designed and arranged to iit within and engageslidably said guideways.

front i tions of the rear legs, an independent. drawer unit composed ofa box-like cabinet and a drawer therein and positioned normally'beneathone end of the top and with the front end thereof` sub-k stantiallyflush with said front .wall andthe rear .portion of the bottom thereofresting on'the ledge,

and means for suspending the unit so that it may be removed from itsnormal position by forward sliding movement consisting of a pair oflaterally spaced oppositely facing channel-shaped guideways extendingbetween and having the ends thereof secured respectively to the yfrontwall and said element, and a pair of laterally spaced lslide bars xedlyconnected to the top of the cabinet and designed and arranged to twithin and engage slidably said guideways.

lALBERT ,BALs'rEa t

